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We didn't write any letters either. I did however make my answer to the "Development of your Relationship" question very comprehensive and up to the time of the filing of the application. We also had several years worth of phone records which went right up to date as well.

Got my PPR last week, so I'm assuming they were satisfied with that :)
 
@Amikety
You have given me hope because my wife parents and family weren't apart of the weddingutbut we wrote a lettrr teling them why
 
jiggyzealous said:
@ Amikety
You have given me hope because my wife parents and family weren't apart of the weddingutbut we wrote a lettrr teling them why

We had two people at our wedding, both friends. Neither of us told our respective families about the wedding.

Keep in mind that every case really is unique. Someone with strong evidence in one area (e.g., lots of great wedding photographs showing family from both sides) probably need not worry as much about other areas. In our case I was concerned of heightened scrutiny due to the prior refusal, even though the grounds for refusal didn't apply to a sponsored spousal case. Absent that we probably could have been more lax in the evidence area as well.

That's why I say - you're telling a story. Some do it with pictures, some with words, and apparently some do with phone cards! In the end, you just have to convince a visa officer that the primary purpose of the relationship isn't to obtain status in Canada.
 
jiggyzealous said:
@ Amikety
You have given me hope because my wife parents and family weren't apart of the weddingutbut we wrote a lettrr teling them why

It was the opposite with us, her family was there but mine weren't. We explained it was due to travel and time issues, (most of my relative don't even have passports lol).

I'm sure they deal with a lot of wedding where only one family attends, due to travel issues, disapproval of marrying a foreigner, etc. As long as you explain it, you should be ok
 
CanadianJeepGuy said:
Call me unromantic but I provided the information that supports the claims in the application. I didn't get all mushy and emotional in the statement of how we met and how we came to fall in love. We are older so there is a somewhat more pragmatic approach to the process of love and relationships.

I actually think everybody should stay true to what works best for them. The letter doesn't need to be mushy. Ours wasn't, rather a true from heart description of our relationship.

The application is definitely supposed to be a true representative of the couple and their relationship, and based on each individual case and the points that need clarification, people should choose what's best for them. So I think you did the right thing of doing things the way you're comfortable with. Some other people might choose to do it in another way- as long as they demonstrate to the VO that the relationship is genuine and continuing, and that the couple have interdependency, it will be fine. Each case is unique, and therefore there no single set way of putting application materials together.

As computergeek already mentioned, this is about telling your story, and the medium could vary from couple to couple.
 
My husband (sponsor) didn't write an explanation about our relationship. We thought that it seemed repetitive to all the information we provided for Form 5490 (our application as 9cm thick). We haven't received sponsorship approval yet and now I'm a bit worried...
 
tinytortoise said:
My husband (sponsor) didn't write an explanation about our relationship. We thought that it seemed repetitive to all the information we provided for Form 5490 (our application as 9cm thick). We haven't received sponsorship approval yet and now I'm a bit worried...

No need for worries if you have provided what they have asked for :)
 
tinytortoise said:
My husband (sponsor) didn't write an explanation about our relationship. We thought that it seemed repetitive to all the information we provided for Form 5490 (our application as 9cm thick). We haven't received sponsorship approval yet and now I'm a bit worried...

also no need to worry - you have filed your application not even a month ago, and even if I know that lots of January applicants have received the approval, you're still well within the timeline for first stage, so I don't think it has anything to do with proofs etc.
Sweden
 
amikety said:
Neither did we. My husband doesn't do mushy. I also couldn't imagine him actually writing anything. This guy wrote on our first Valentine's day cards "I love you." That was it. His letter to CIC would be "Hurry up and give my wife status so she can go get a job. I'm tired of paying all the bills alone and I want more money to buy a new tablet." Now that would be convincing! Hahaha!

Our application has good points (we live together) and bad points (my family doesn't know him, no family from either side came to the wedding - by and large because we didn't invite them.... for good reason).

Then again, hubby said we just need to send CIC one of our fights. Then they'd know we were a real couple :P

I think your husband is my twin brother from another mother.
 
Just wondering,if you guys can provide some answer for peace of my mind,this is, among other things, proof we provided:

-Joint bank accounts (chequings,savings,business)
-Joint credit,loans
-Life insurance policies,we both beneficiaries
-Joint lease agreement (2 years now)
-Utility bills
-Written affadavits from both sides(friends,family,impartials) notarized
-Photos from family gatherings,together
-copies of e-mails,some of our skype conversations when i am out of town working
-Our cards to each other on valentines day etc.


Is that considered enough proof for inland application?
 
Abe1004 said:
Just wondering,if you guys can provide some answer for peace of my mind,this is, among other things, proof we provided:

-Joint bank accounts (chequings,savings,business)
-Joint credit,loans
-Life insurance policies,we both beneficiaries
-Joint lease agreement (2 years now)
-Utility bills
-Written affadavits from both sides(friends,family,impartials) notarized
-Photos from family gatherings,together
-copies of e-mails,some of our skype conversations when i am out of town working
-Our cards to each other on valentines day etc.


Is that considered enough proof for inland application?

I would think so. Sharing debt is almost the same as having a kid. LOL.
 
CanadianJeepGuy said:
I think your husband is my twin brother from another mother.

Ya know, I was kinda thinking the same thing.... :P When I read your posts, you talk just like my husband in my head.

I did include cards we'd given each other over time, which showed a development of 'I'm excited to meet you in person soon' to 'I love you' then to silly inside marriage jokes........ I dunno, I think the 18 month co-habitation is pretty strong evidence by itself. We also have joint bank account, cell phone account, and copies of my spouse benefits card and healthcare card as I'm a dependant on his account. We did emails, instant messenger, etc, and I included a copy of our mutual friends on Facebook, because it included several of his relatives.
 
Thanks everyone for sharing your opinions. My wifes part of the application was pretty heavy on proof so I decided to just write a one page letter and then ask the VO to refer to my wifes part for proof.

I am assuming that they will read her part in Canada? Or does her part just get read when it is forwarded to the regional office. If so, then I do not have much of anything to support our relationship in my part of the application.